The Crack in our Bond
by MsHeadBanging
Summary: Kylo Ren and Rey fight each other for different reasons. One wants an apprentice, the other wants to be left alone and destroy the First Order.
1. Chapter 1

Rey, Luke Skywalker, Chewie and Artoo were on their way to the planet of Parellia. They hoped to find more answers there, answers the Jedi Temple of Ahch-To refused to give up.

In the years of isolation Luke Skywalker studied the Jedi Temple of Ahch-To and the teachings it could offer under the form of the ancient holocrons. He had discovered that the Jedi Code suffered little alterations when compared to the first version of it. This code had allowed the Jedi to work in the service of the people, and to keep the dark forces at bay for millennia. Now Luke needed to question the Jedi Code in order to understand exactly why the teachings of the Jedi were no longer effective in keeping the balance between the Light and the Dark.

Out of all the holocrons and texts Luke could study on Ahch-To one single holocron had stayed closed despite his best efforts. He had found it in a secret niche in the wall, floating inside it. Its crystals bathed the room in an icy blue light. It was a unique holocron in shape and energy. It was rhomboid, with blue-grey colored crystals adorning its tips. The energy it had was heavier than normal holocrons, colder and sharper. Interacting with it for long hours gave Luke headaches but he was no closer to opening it. He had even tried opening it together with Rey but the holocron remained firmly closed. Rey had felt it too, the cold energy filling her lungs. Even more, she heard something coming from within the holocron. While concentrating on it she heard a voice, a smooth voice belonging to a boy, singing something that sounded like a lullaby. She could not make out what the child said, she wasn't even sure he was speaking in Basic, but the song was mesmerizing. It made her feel lightheaded and she saw an enchanted forest covered in snow. The next thing she knew, Luke was bringing her back to her senses. She had fainted and was sprawled across the floor. That was the first and last time she was in the presence of the holocron.

Shortly after Luke decided they needed to leave Ahch-To, but to Rey's surprise their destination was not D'Qar. It was the Parellia system. Luke believed it was a good place to look for the key to the mysterious holocron because after Ahch-To the Jedi Temple on Parellia was the oldest. He did not know what he would find there, the Parellian Jedi Temple had been destroyed and rebuild several times over. The system benefited from a constant Jedi presence up until the end of the Clone Wars. Since then a warrior clan had taken up the Temple and its grounds using it as a base of operations.

On board the Millenium Falcon Luke was thinking of the best course of action as he stayed kneeled in meditation in his room.

Rey sat in the co-pilot's seat looking at the stars as they passed them in hyperspace. Chewie piloted while Artoo was making a routine check of the communications systems. Her thoughts were scattered across the galaxy. After 3 months of training she had grown as a padawan, wielding the Skywalker lightsaber with some new found confidence. After the events on Starkiller Base she did not want to wield it again. She feared what she became when she was holding it, and feared all the anger and sorrow the lightsaber seemed to hold in it. Luke had to reassure her that an object can't hold feelings, that it was not a living thing, thus it was deprived of the Force. He taught her about the Force, the Light Side and the Dark, teaching her to control her new found powers. He showed her how to resist the temptation of the Dark Side, encouraging her to let go of fear, anger, hate, everything he knew may lead her astray. But letting go wasn't easy. Not with a lightsaber like that...and certainly not with someone like him looming over her, waiting for her to let her guard down, waiting to invade her mind. Artoo started beeping in a state of alarm.

"What is it, Artoo? Calm down, and say it slowly." Rey told the droid. Artoo started beeping again.

"You received a transmission about a First Order attack? Where?" Artoo beeped beeped again.

"The Selax System".

Rey thought about those poor people and the horror the First Order brought to their system, reaching out to them. A mistake. An enormous mistake. He was there. He was overseeing the attack. And he did not let the occasion slip and leaped in her mind. A wave of emotions hit Rey, making her chest feel on fire. She could feel him creeping inside her mind like in the interrogation room, but like always he was resisting him, denying him access. But this was the first time in happened off of Ahch-To and here he was stronger and she was weaker. Each time it happened she found it harder to resist him. Rey quickly closed her eyes, cleared her mind of any thought about the Jedi Temple of Parellia and concentrated on the technical specifications of the Millennium Falcon.

" _Oh, so you're on Han Solo's ship..."_ Kylo Ren said in a soft, taunting voice. She could hear him clearly but fainted as though he was several parsecs away. Which he was. Several systems away, but still he could reach her.

" _It's a Correlian type freighter modified to accommodate..._ "

" _Smuggling compartments. I know. Tell me something I don't know. Where are you going Rey_?"

" _I'm not giving you anything. Get out..."_

" _Of my head. Yes, yes, I know that too. We should consider other discussion subjects, this one is beginning to be dull_ "

Chewie said something but Rey ignored him. Kylo Ren could reach her, but she knew that whatever this was between them worked both ways, which meant she could get to him too. She concentrated her thoughts on the Master of the Knights of Ren pushing inside his mind. She saw hazy images and soon a tall dark room was clear to her. She saw a map, and a mission report, but the text seemed coded somehow, so she couldn't understand what it said. The map was of an unknown system. As Kylo turned away from the table she saw a droid, a green and grey astromech droid, called XR. It beeped as acknowledgment of his master's order and turned around to leave the room. Kylo made a few steps and she saw his scared face reflecting in a window. He had a serious demeanor, made even darker by the giant red scar that branded him across the face from right to left. Beyond the window Rey saw burning houses and dead bodies as far as her, no, as far as **his** eyes could see. The smoke rose in lazy spirals toward the sky, making it grey. Stormtroopers were patrolling between the houses and labor droids were handling the dead bodies making piles and preparing for their incineration. Another squad of stormtroopers were escorting a large group of younglings towards the structure Kylo Ren was in. New blood. The sight made her feel queasy.

" _What is that map about? You're going to attack another system aren't you_?" Rey was furious and sick of the man on the other side of the galaxy.

" _Well, well, if you don't give me what I want why should I give you what you what? I'm not giving you anything. Get out of my head_ " Kylo Ren said in low, sarcastic tone, smiling at her in the window's reflection while he was pushing her out of his head.

His image faded away to black. She was back in her head. Rey was angry, she hated him so much she could feel it in her bones.

" _Anger is a path to the Dark Side. Didn't Luke Skywalker teach you that_?"

" _You have no right to speak about his teachings. You forsake them! You betrayed Master Luke. You betrayed everyone! You killed Han!_ "

" _I didn't betray anyone. They betrayed me. Your traitorous Resistance shall fall, and the First Order will bring back peace, justice and order to the galaxy_ " Ren's voice was flat and hollow.

Silence followed, engulfing both of them. Rey stood tense in the co-pilot's seat, simmering with anger. She felt her hands curl in a fist, ready to fight. Kylo Ren calmly connected again, a heavy, cold touch reaching her mind, creeping between the cracks her fear made.

" _You need..._ " Ren started talking again in a deep, soft voice.

" _A teacher. I know. And you know what my answer will be."_

" _You won't survive this. Join me or you will die"_

 _"I will never join with a monster like you"_

" _Sometimes we need to be monsters to survive, Rey"_

 _"I'd rather die"_

 _"You will"_ Kylo Ren sighed with disappointment. " _You are stronger than you know. You can feel it, too."_

Rey grew angrier. She felt as though she was on fire and Kylo Ren was the wind that fed the flames.

" _You're afraid. Of the Dark Side."_ Kylo Ren said softly, Rey feeling as if he was in the same room with her, whispering in her ear " _That's a mistake. You can't outrun your fears, but who am I to teach you about running? Luke Skywalker knows everything about running and hiding_ "

" _You are wro..."_ Rey started to yell back at him. She wanted to condemn him for talking like this about her master, about the only other person beside Han and Finn, who saw her as more than just a scavenger girl, more than just an abandoned child on Jakku.

" _Wrong_?" Kylo Ren spat back at her, the cold calm replaced with rage. " _How can I be wrong? Where was he in the past six years? He ran and hid on a forsaken rock in the first battle of this war, leaving everyone to fend for themselves. He failed. He admitted defeat. He abandoned his own sister, forced her to fight alone against the might of the First Order."_

" _Family? How dare you speak of it? You killed your own father! You have no right_!"

" _And you do? What do you know about family? Luke Skywalker only cares about himself and his precious Jedi Code, do not fool yourself."_

Rey had enough. She mustered her strength and pushed him away, as far away as possible, shutting every way he might try to sneak back inside her mind. He was gone, cast away all the way back to the Selax system, and she opened her eyes to come back to the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon. She was fighting to regain control of her breathing, and remove the sweat from her forehead before anyone noticed her distress. The ship was out of hyperspace and slowly approaching a planet. Luke entered the cockpit and he addressed Chewie.

"Chewie, you said we were getting close to Parellia?"

Chewie approved. Luke sat down on the seat behind the wookie and asked Artoo to find out more about the attack on the Selax system.

"Well", Luke said while turning toward his padawan, "we should get ready for landing. Rey, do you remember what I told you about Parellia and its temple? I want to be sure you know everything there is, because I don't know what we'll find on the surface"

But Rey wasn't paying attention to Luke. She could feel her entire body go ice cold, and all she could think of was if Kylo Ren knew wookie.


	2. Chapter 2

Kylo Ren looked at the drop of blood on his glove. His nose bled, dripping slowly. Rey had pushed him hard, causing his nose bleed. She almost made him loose his balance. She was stronger everyday yet in the same time weaker. She lacked discipline and understanding. He invaded her mind with such ease because of the fear that was crippling her, scattering her thoughts and strength. A fear that grew stronger since he last interrogated her.

"Fear is a terrible instrument, isn't it Grandfather? Wielded by a knowledgeable opponent it could bring about the end of wars in its self". Kylo turned away from the window and looked at Darth Vader's melted helmet placed on its pedestal.

Kylo Ren was awfully familiar with battles lost before they started, all thanks to fear. With a disgusted face, he waved away the thoughts of distant fears and battles he fought and lost. He could not allow himself to cower, he was the Master of the Knights of Ren now, and he had his eyes set on a new recruit. The girl. The girl Supreme Leader Snoke accused him of having compassion for. The girl the Supreme Leader wanted to use as a reminder. Kylo Ren did not need reminders. He knew what was at stake and he knew not to betray the Supreme Leader. The girl was just a valuable asset. And he could recruit anyone he wanted. He could take anything he wanted.

"XR!" The R2 unit appeared from the next room, beeping. "Pull out the map of the Parellia system, and any information we have related to the Jedi Temple on that planet. Also, look into the signals sent out from Selax or its moon that match the Resistance frequencies in the last 10-15 minutes, and send me a report. Ready my ship. Off the logs. Activate the cloaking device and the signal scrambler. Notify the knights. Tell The Monk to come after me when everything is set for departure." The droid whirled and left the Knight's chambers

Left alone, the knight stated thinking about his conversation with Rey. So, she was with Skywalker, Artoo and Chewbacaa on the Millennium Falcon. "Han Solo" Kylo Ren whispered his father's name softly. Hearing Rey mentioning him pained him more than he liked to admit, even to himself, and remembering it again now only made his headache worse. Any sign of contempt left his face and sadness transformed slowly in anger. Kylo Ren went on a fit of rage. He used his lightsaber to demolish half the room, making scrap out of computer consoles and furniture.

The Monk found him leaning against the wall looking at a datapad and drinking Arkanese liquor. The room was demolished, lightsaber marks all over. Some were still red and gave a faint glow. Darkness descended, the sun hiding behind the hills in the south.

"Master" the knight kneeled and removed his helmet. He was a Noghri with brown skin.

"I take it the preparations are done?"

"Yes, Master."

"Good."

Monk looked at the drink in Kylo Ren's hand. It was never a good sign, seeing Kylo Ren drinking. He rarely did, so the sight made Monk nervous. It meant they were about to embark on a mission that went dangerously close to be called defection by the First Order.

Kylo Ren finished the last of his drink, closed the screen of the datapad, removed the disk from it and placed the datapad on a table. He took his helmet. He did all this without glancing at the kneeled knight. The Master of the Knights of proceeded towards the door.

"Where is the ship?"

"It is out of town, behind the hill. We'll have to take speeders to get there faster." The Monk rose to his feet and closely followed Ren.

"I want in and out before Hux leaves this system. We have a few days to do so since the people of this planet still try to fight us. The Finalizer will not move to the next system before their resistance is crushed"

"Of course, Master."

They left the complex and stated walking south to the hills. They passed dead and burning pyres and numerous patrolling Stormtroopers. Neither one represented a problem for the two knights. The buildings were charred and demolished. At the outskirts of the small settlement the two cloaked figures entered a small wooded aria that covered the hill. Two speeders were parked there, and they took them to cover the distance from the town to the ship. Beyond the hill they saw the Gozanti-class cruiser nestled between the hill they were on and the next one. They dismounted their speeders next to the ship and entered it. The other four knights were there, waiting for The Monk and The Master.

"So, we shall depart" Kylo Ren passed his men and seated himself in the pilot's seat. The knights took their seats, Monk in the co-pilot's while Kylo Ren started the ship's engines. The Gozanti-class cruiser gently took off the ground. Kylo Ren pointed the ship to the south and hailed The Finalizer, requesting General Hux.

"What is it Ren?" General Hux was annoyed by the call and seeing him pilot a cruiser did not make things any better. "You're in a ship"

"Good sense of observation, Hux. I am leaving the camp to pursue a lead. I received reports about a small secret Resistance base on the moon of Selax."

"I did not see these reports Ren, what are you taking about?"

"If the information is correct you will receive a full report"

"I want it now. Give me all the Intel you have and I will send Stormtroopers with you"

"No. I'll handle this with my knights. You take care of the selaxese rebellion."

"Careful, Ren, I am not your subordinate"

"Neither are you my superior Hux. I am letting you know out of curtesy"

"Does the Supreme Leader know about this?"

Hux touched a nerve. Of course the Supreme Leader did not know. This was just one of the things the Supreme Leader did not know.

"I will personally tell the Supreme Leader after I have returned victorious. I will not waste the Supreme Leader's time with unverified information. That is all Hux". Kylo Ren struggled to maintain his usual low voice and not let the general perceive his nervousness.

"You are to return in 3 rotations."

"I can't make any promises, Hux."

"Join The Finalizer when you are done. We need to proceed to the next system. Do not make me wait after you."

"We can't have that, Hux. Of course I'll come back" Ren's voice was sarcastic.

The conversation was over and Kylo Ren was already half way to the moon of Selax. The cruiser passed The Finalizer and the two escort class ships that formed a blockade over the planet. Kylo Ren placed the ship on the orbit of the moon and waited to be out of sight from the Finalizer.

Ren took the ship on the surface and landed just outside what appeared to be a village. The base was there, underground. All he needed was the superior Intel officer so he could make his plan work. Kylo Ren had to be careful to use his left hand to command the Force, always the left, never the right. He curled the fingers of his left hand and took the lightsaber in his right. The other knights readied their weapons. Although all had lightsabers, they rarely used them because they didn't have the right opponents anymore. The attack began, the 6 knights making little effort to kill the defenders of the small base. There were only 12 soldiers, the rest of the personnel consisting of intelligence officers. Kylo Ren found his victim, an elder Twi'lek. Ren caught him and started using the Force to interrogate the officer. The Twi'lek cowered and screamed in pain. A minute or two later he was dead at Ren's feet. The Master turned away and called the regroup of his men.

"I have obtained vital information. The commanding officer of this base gave up the last known location of Luke Skywalker. He has left his exile."

The Knights were startled and started talking among them. The information was unsettling.

"Quiet" The Master commanded. "We shall depart for the Parellia System, immediately."

"Should we call General…?" The Rogue started but Ren interrupted him abruptly:

"Bring the Finalizer and let the entire Galaxy know we found him? Why don't we send a card to the Resistance? No, no. We shall leave under the radar and find him quietly before anyone can warn him."

Kylo Ren stormed through them back to the ship. The rest followed in silence. Kylo took his pilot seat, engaging the engines.

"XR. Engage the cloaking device and the sensory scrambler."

The astromech droid complied and the ship effectively disappeared. Kylo Ren then proceded to introduce the Parellia system coordinates in the navicomputer. The ship darted toward outer space and left the moon's atmosphere. They flew forwards distancing themselves from Selax and its moon. Two Venator-class Star Destroyers were orbiting the system completing the blockade. Kylo Ren steered the ship to pass the two battlecruisers after which he engaged the hyperdrive. Once in hyperspace, he turned to speak to his men.

"Brothers. We are heading for the Parellia system. There, along with Luke Skywalker we might find a future recruit."

"Who is it about?" Armory said in a low voice. He had several grenades strapped on leather belts that crossed on his chest and other numerous explosives and blasters on him.

"The recruit is a Force-sensitive scavenger. She is extremely strong and she has been corrupted by Luke Skywalker"

"That complicates things"

"It is not something we cannot handle. We are six, he is only one"

"Two, you are forgetting this padawan of his you want to steal"

Kylo Ren turned fast toward the knight that spoke. Sniper was slumped in his seat, the embodiment of insolence.

"She will not be harmed. She is my..."

"Personal interest, Master?"

Next thing he knew, The Sniper dangled in the air, being Force chocked by Ren. He tried to break free using the Force, but he was no match for his master's powers, even diminished as they were.

"I will not tolerate your insolence, Sniper. She is my new recruit, whether she will be the eight Knight of Ren or your replacement is your decision. Know that I will spare you this time, just because your talents are needed for this organization and the First Order. Understood?"

Kylo Ren released the knight by lowering his left hand. The Sniper fell down and stayed there awhile panting, thirsty for air.

"Yes...yes...I am sorry Master...I apologies for my insolence. Forgive me! Please, forgive me!"

Kylo Ren continued with the briefing: "There is also the problem with the Kasinja war clan. According to the intelligence officer they have occupied the Jedi Temple Skywalker and the girl will visit. To eliminate this problem, we shall kill them all."

"With all due respect Master, I think the immediate problem we should address is Skywalker" The Rogue spoke. He had a high pitched voice that sometimes could be annoying.

"No. I know him. I know his Jedi Code. He will try to convince the Kasinja to allow him free passage. They will refuse, he'll try a Jedi Mind trick but that won't work because they are too many. The warriors will attack and eventually capture him by threatening his companions. We'll make our move then."

"You know him best Master. We shall do as you command." Rogue said, slowly bowing his head.

Kylo Ren turned back in his seat, and leaned back watching the stars. The other knights started checking their weapons, all while The Sniper was still rubbing his neck and breathing heavily.


	3. Chapter 3

They landed the Millennium Falcon just outside the Temple.

The planet was a desolate place with a swampy terrain. The grass was short and the mud was thick and sticky. Here and there small twisted trees were growing.

The Temple was a heterogeneous mix of tall and medium buildings, some partially destroyed some newer all enclosed by a tall wall. Rey could see ruins in the swamp, collapsed, corroded and almost engulfed by the vegetation.

A few dozen warriors were watching them from the outer walls and the Temple's windows. They had their fingers on the triggers of their blasters. Rey was uneasy.

"I have a bad feeling about this, Master"

"Relax, Rey. We are not here to quarrel with them. We just want access to the lower levels where we might find something about or from Ahch-To."

"What if they want a quarrel with us?" Rey asked. She felt Anakin's lightsaber weighing heavily on her belt. Calling her. Begging her to be ignited. Rey placed a hand on the lightsaber and a surge of energy passed through her fingertips. She felt it, the foolish bravery, the kind of bravery that made her want to charge head first inside the Temple. Rey felt that with it she could get whatever she wanted.

"Rey, look at me." Rey met Luke's eyes. They were warmer towards her now than the first time she saw him, on top of the island. "If the warriors will want to fight us our obligation is to try to come to a peaceful resolution. Negotiation is key. Jedis do not kill without cause. Any life taken must be taken with the outmost responsibility. We will only draw our lightsabers if we have no other choice. But, I doubt we will need them."

"Yes, Master Luke."

"I told you to call me Luke. Master seems so…formal, don't you agree?"

"I…I couldn't, your teachings are so important to me, you…you are my teacher." Rey remembered Kylo Ren's words to her, "you need a teacher" echoing from what seemed a distant past. She needed one, that was true, but she chose who it would be. Rey smiled at Luke.

When a few steps separated them from the gates a lieutenant stopped them.

"State your business with the Kasinja Warrior Clan" the man demanded in a imposing voice.

"I am Master Jedi Luke Skywalker and this is my padawan, Rey. We came here…"

"No. No Jedi. Jedi not welcome here" said the man, obviously scared by the living legend in front of him.

"We have no quarrel with you. I am not interested in the Temple itself. It is yours. I just want access to a certain level, to study something and then we will be on my way."

"No. We have orders. Form the clan leader. Leave now, no harm. Stay, we kill."

"Fine, we are leaving. Thank you for your time"

Luke turned and Rey followed him closely.

"Master" Rey whispered, "where are not leaving are we?"

"No, Rey. We will find another way inside. "

They went back to the Millennium Falcon and pretended to leave the planet. Instead, they went to the northwest and landed as far as possible so the warriors could not spot them. They had a long walk back to the temple under the cover of the setting sun. They were going to walk with their backs toward the sun, hoping it will offer some minimal cover. Luke decided to leave Chewie with the Falcon and take Artoo with them. The little droid could be very useful.

Rey started to become nervous. If Kylo Ren knew wookie how long would it take him to get there? She was afraid to tell Luke of her connection with his nephew. She did not know how he would react and with each passing day it was harder to confess. It would sound awful to tell him Kylo Ren tried to reach her four times while they were on Ahch-To. It would have been even worse to tell him that he actually managed to enter her mind on his fifth attempt and gain an essential piece of information: their location.

They were close now, just beneath the walls. The gate was unguarded. Artoo started working to get the door open and he succeeded within the minute. They were now slowly, carefully making their way through the courtyard to the Temple itself. The yard was empty but the windows of the Temple were lit.

"We don't have to worry about them too much. We need to get to the oldest part of this temple. This way. I can feel it. Follow me." Luke made a sudden turn to the right, heading towards another section of the Temple, a lower one, build with black stones. Heavy clouds started to gather, ominous and heavy, pressing down on their heads. Rey instinctively touched the lightsaber again. It answered her fears with a new wave of mad courage and overconfidence. She made a few more steps and passed Luke.

"Rey, no…"

Lights were suddenly placed on her. She automatically ignited her lightsaber. She stayed there in the middle of the field watching as the warriors were readying their blasters. They fired, all at once. Rey lifted the lightsaber to dodge the enemy fire. She took down two of them. The air filled with a weird sizzling sound. It was coming from the lightsaber. Rey realized it was raining, the water evaporating on the hot beam of energy that now looked like it was surrounded by a halo. The warriors were watching her, obviously trying to figure out a way to kill her without firing the blasters.

"Rey" Luke's voice was a strained, coarse whisper "keep your guard up. How many are they left?" He was still under the cover of darkness, the men not seeing him.

"Two"

"More will come, we can't afford a full scale battle out here. You take one, I will take one. We'll use a mind trick on them"

"Y…"

One of the warriors lifted his blaster to shoot and Rey did not stop to think. She thrusted her right arm in the air and Force pushed him strongly in the wall behind him. The warrior fell numb to the ground. The other one tried to shoot Luke but died from the ricocheted blaster bolt. Luke's green lightsaber glowed in the dark for a few seconds before it was closed again.

Luke turned to Rey and looked at her in a new way. He looked at her with disappointment.

"What was that? You were reckless. That man shot me and now he is dead because you used the Force to almost kill his companion. You made mistakes."

"Master…"

They were soaking wet from the heavy rain falling down. Rey felt so guilty for her actions.

"We will discuss this and the consequences latter. Right now we need…"

Luke did not have time to finish his sentence. A sudden explosion threw them a few feet through the air. Artoo screeched horribly. Someone tried to blow them up with a grenade but missed his mark. Rey had a hard time adjusting to the situation. White circles were playing in front of her eyes and her ears were ringing. She strengthened her grasp on the lightsaber. "Get UP" she heard a voice. Kylo? No, it wasn't him. Rey looked up and she saw a man standing in front of her. He was blonde with blue eyes, wore black Jedi robes and he was looking at her. "Ahsoka, get UP!" he yelled at her. Who Ahsoka or the man in front of her were did not matter for Rey. She got up and ignited the lightsaber. The bright blue color shone in the large puddles on the ground. A warrior charged toward her. She raised the lightsaber to defend herself and before she knew it, the warrior was dead at hear feet, cut in half. Blaster bolts started coming down on her. She started deflecting them, retreating toward the wall behind her. She couldn't see Luke and the constant attack had her cornered. Rey realized the lightsaber was too obvious, marking her position for the snipers. She closed it, turned around and ran. Reaching the end of the building she turned right and kept running. Six men were in front of her and she didn't hesitate to use the lightsaber. Cutting them down was easy but they were soon replaced by others. It seemed the entire clan was up and in arms. She used the Force to push them away and pass though, running, avoiding them. She was scared. She saw an open door and darted through. Rey found herself inside a large hallway with tall columns on each side. She hid behind one.

"Pull yourself together. It is not as bad as a sandstorm. It's just water. C'MON REY, you have to find Master Luke. I can do this. I can do this"

She left her hiding spot and ran back outside to the last place she saw Luke. There was nothing there and she couldn't hear anything apart from the rain. She kept running and, with the corner of her eye she saw a green light and many other red ones. Luke was surrounded and she went after him, throwing herself in the battle.

"I WANT THEM ALIVE! THE FIRST ORDER WILL PAY A GOOD PRICE FOR THEM!" The clan leader was shouting from higher up.

"Rey, get back to the Falcon!"

"No!"

Rey was just about to join the fight and help Luke when a blast bolt hit her in the middle of the back. All air left her lungs. She fell down. The stun blast left her completely helpless. This was all her fault. Everything. She felt nauseous and then she felt nothing.

Rey woke up in cell, bound at her wrists and ankles. Her body was sore, her mouth dry. She looked around to try and determine her location. The bright light was blinding her. She saw that her cell was like a cage, small, with a large window that allowed the sun to shine. She looked around and saw she was alone. Hours passed before a clan member came to her, a tall woman and she brought her food.

"Here, for you, food"

She wanted to leave but Rey tried to stop her.

"No, come back! Look at me!"

The woman ignored her and left. Rey did not waste time and started eating what she had received. She needed a way to get out of there and find the lightsaber. Eating helped. The rain started again and she found herself wondering what Chewie was doing, if he knew of their predicament or if Artoo managed to reach the Falcon. She did not want to contemplate what a warrior clan might do to a small droid like him. There was nothing much she could do tied up like that. All she managed to accomplish was to crawl to the window where she saw she was in a high tower facing the main entrance. The sun was setting and everything was engulfed in a orange light. Rey slummed back and remained on the floor. She had little hope of getting out of there without help.

She heard them. The screams. Rey wasn't sure if she heard them with her own ears or through him. She dragged herself to the window to look out. Down in the courtyard Kylo Ren was swinging his lightsaber in all directions, killing every single man in his path. Rey soon saw he wasn't the only one fighting because he was accompanied by four black clothed figures. They were not using lightsabers but simple weapons or blasters, killing people in cold blood. She was watching a massacre. From somewhere a ship appeared, a black, Gozanti-class cruiser. What was that doing here? It circled in the air and targeted the low-rise sections of the temple and the walls that were swarming with warriors, firing upon them. Suddenly the door opened and the woman from earlier appeared inside the room. She had the blue lightsaber in her hand.

"You, you and your kind brought death to us!"

"No, I…I..,"

The woman entered her cell, igniting the saber and placing the tip dangerously close to Rey's face.

"He. The lord of the Knights of Ren. He came for you, he asked for you. But he would not pay and the clan leader refused. Death, oh, so much death. My man was down there. I will kill you and leave your body for him to find."

Rey Force pushed her back. The lightsaber fell between them and she called it to her, grabbed it and used it to sever the bonds at her ankles. Before the woman could realize what happened the roles were reversed, Rey holding the lightsaber at her throat.

"The man I came here with. Master Luke Skywalker. I want to know where he is and you will tell me"

"What will you do if I refuse, Jedi? Torture me? Kill me?"

"No"

Rey deactivated the saber. She knew she had to find Luke alone before Kylo Ren did. Rey considered her options and having taken a decision, extended her arms toward the woman. She wanted to trick her to tell her the location she wanted.

"You will tell me Luke Skywalker's location" Rey said concentrating on the woman and the information she wanted.

"The man" the woman said in a hollow voice, her eyes starring blank. "He is in the tallest tower. He surrendered after we caught you"

Rey left the cell in haste, looking the woman inside. She used the lightsaber to cut the restraints at her hands and looked around. She saw a flight of stairs and started running down. She had to pass through the courtyard to get to the tower Luke was in. She did not encounter anyone on her way down. It seemed everyone was fighting the Knights of Ren. Heavy rain had started again, drenching her once she was outside. She started running through the bodies, trying to stay as low as possible. Out of nowhere a lassat staff smacked her in the lower back. She was so concentrated on finding Luke and avoiding Kylo Ren and his knights she did not notice the clan leader running up to her. She fell down on her stomach dropping the lightsaber and looked up. The clan leader has ready to strike her again but something stopped him. A red crackling light burst out of his chest. The man fell down, dead and she saw Kylo Ren. He looked at her and made a few steps in her direction. Rey got up quickly, walking backwards to maintain the distance between them.

"Rey..." Ren started talking but Rey did not want to hear anything. She reached out to call the lightsaber. It flew in her hand and she activated it. She felt like on Starkiller Base again, with the monster chasing her. She waited for him to attack but he did not, he was just walking toward her.

"You need a teacher! Someone who can understand you and what you need. You have both light and dark in you Rey. You and I are the same."

"I am nothing like you!"

Rey attacked him, striking angry at him. He dodged by rising his lightsaber, swinging it and rotating to attack her back. She dodged and counter attacked, hitting hard and fast, trying to push him back. He allowed her the space, moving backwards. Rey suddenly changed the direction of her swings, pushing the tip of his red lightsaber in the ground. She took advantage and used the Force to push him back and slam him on the ground. He got up on his knees quickly enough to catch the blue lightsaber on his. The light from both lightsabers played on his mask as Rey stayed on top of him.

"We are not supposed to fight!"

Rey ignored him and slammed her sword in the cross guard to try to expose him. Her plan backfired because he took advantage of her rotation and got up, slamming his left shoulder in her. Rey lost her breath for a second, she felt as if she got smashed by a heavy labor droid, stumbling a few feet back. She could not allow him to win so she lifted her lightsaber and attacked him again. They continued to fight, following each other in the courtyard, their lightsabers sizzling from the rain that evaporated on them. Ren lifted his left hand and Force pushed her through the doors inside the old structure she hid in earlier, now half collapsed by the aerial strike took out by the Gozanti class cruiser. Ren followed in closely. Before she could raise from the ground he placed the tip of his lightsaber under her chin.

"This fight is pointless"

"It is not. You are my enemy. I should kill you for everything you did, for everything you did to Han and Finn…and me."

"Revenge is not the way of the Jedi, little one"

"Don't call me like that"

"I am not your enemy, I do not want to kill you!"

Rey tried to Force push him but he raised his left hand and pushed back. She strained to beat him but it felt like she was trying to move a mountain. Eventually the tension broke, Kylo Ren flew a few feet up in the air and she glided on the rough surface of the floor further away. Ren fell on his feet and used the force to drag her to him. She ignited her lightsaber when she was inches away and tried to hack off his head. The knight managed to move fast enough to keep his head, but the blue lightsaber destroyed the side of his helmet. Ren quickly removed the helmet and threw it on the floor. He was angry. He snarled and grunted and attacked her with new strength, aiming to cut off her arm. The real fight had just begun. Neither one cared what was around them, they swung their lightsabers with broad aggressive moves, each strike backed by the intent to maim the other. They moved inside the collapsed structure, slamming through doors and leaving deep red marks in the walls. They reached a flight of stairs and Rey pushed Kylo Ren to force him to descend on them backwards. She had the higher ground now, striking with precise, powerful blows at him, each one landing on his red lightsaber, each one forcing him to make another step down, each one cementing the fact she had the upper hand. That was until they almost reached the end. Kylo Ren caught her lightsaber in midair, forcing her to stop with both hands held high. His punch in her stomach made her bend and fall to her knees, rolling on the remaining steps before remaining almost motionless on the floor, grasping for air. The tall man lazily stepped down the stairs to her. His anger seemed diminished as he looked down at her. The hallway they were in now was half demolished, the floor was wet from the rain falling in through a huge hole in the celling.

"If you weren't trying to kill me we would make a good team."

"I…I….I don't find…ple….pleasure….in killing…o….others…"

"And you think I do? I just follow orders."

"Tha…that doesn't…make….you…less….responsible…you….chose….to…follow…look…at…Finn"

"You mean the traitor that was with you in the woods?" Kylo Ren's face betrayed his anger at hearing Finn's name leaving her lips. "FN-2187 is on every First Order operative's list. The orders are to capture him, alive. Trust me, death is far more enjoyable than anything Hux has in store for him" he said with bitterness.

Rey was panting on the floor trying to find a way to hit him, to put him down. She knew she had small chances going against him physically, so she chose to hit him with debris. She concentrated her will on a huge piece of wall, and threw it at the dark knight. He caught it in the air but did not expect Rey to jump up and hit him. She caught his right hand and kicked him in the knee. Ren slipped on the wet floor and went on his knees. The slab fell near them with a thunderous sound. Rey ignited the lightsaber and placed it at his throat. Ren looked her in the eyes.

"So, now I am disarmed. Will you kill me, Jedi?"

"I am not a Jedi. Not yet. I am a padawan"

Rey could not do it. She stayed there, looking at him, incapable of killing him. He was analyzing every centimeter of her face, his eyes stopping on her lips. His mouth was slightly open and his eyes...The attention made her angry.

"I will take you prisoner. I will return you to the resistance and General Organa. You will pay for your crimes" Rey stated, trying to sound confident.

"I would rather have you kill me here in combat than see them judge me and make a spectacle of my execution" Ren replied softly.

She closed her eyes to avoid his intense gaze and before she knew it he Force pulled her over him, caught her hands, and tried to get up, but she kicked him in the groin. He grunted and slipped again, this time tacking her down with him. She landed on her back with him above her squeezing her arms in his grip. He looked maddened, he was frustrated and in lack of any words he grunted at her again. Rey soon realized he had pinned her down in an iron grip. She had no way of physically pushing him back and she panicked. She did not want to think of what he could do to her.

"You fear me, little one. Don't be afraid"

"..."

"Some say fear leads to anger, that in turn leads to hate which leads to suffering. The Jedi Master Yoda told that to Skywalker. He passed down that information to me"

Rey grunted trying to wriggle free of his grasp but it was useless.

"I have learned Yoda was wrong about fear. It does not lead to anger, it leads to desperation. It leads to hopelessness. What do you hope to accomplish now Rey?"

Kylo Ren did not wait for her to answer, he pushed inside her mind. She tried resisting him, closing her eyes but the pain was too much, the fear was too strong so she could barely resist his mind probing.

" _I want to leave, I want to run, kick you off"_

 _"Why don't you"_

 _"I...I..."_ Rey grunted again and tried fighting him again

" _You're not just a scavenger are you now, Rey? You are a Jedi padawan."_

Rey opened her eyes. What was Ren doing? He must have known she will never join him and the First Order's reign of...terror. She took a deep breath in and forced the connection between them to enter his mind. This time she knew what she was doing, she knew what to search for: fear.

She saw many images and felt his anger, hate, frustrations and then she found something she thought could help her: loneliness and fear. She concentrated on them and she could see a nanny droid taking care of a young boy, the boy eating alone. She saw Han Solo looking at the boy with...fear...the child was surrounded by smashed objects..." _He has it Leia, he has The Force. He's using it. He smashed my tool box"..."no"..._ The images mingled, she saw Chewie but didn't understand him well, she saw the Falcon and then she saw a younger General Organa lifting her gaze from a datapad. She looked at a tall boy with sad eyes, _"you're special Ben. You have the Force like Uncle Luke. You remember him, he is a Jedi Knight. You will be one too. I am sending you to him to learn the Jedi way"…."no"…_.she saw billboards in a city _"Revealed! Senator Organa – Darth Vader's daughter? Can she be trusted?"…"no, no"_ she saw scared people and heard the whispers _"that's him, Vader's grandson… he has that power too."_ …"NO"…. She saw Luke, grey haired and worried " _Ben you have to understand why we didn't tell you, we wanted to protect you."_

"ENOUGH"

Kylo Ren was on his feet. What she saw from him until then was nothing compared to the anger and hate she felt coming off him in waves. She could barely move. This was the true Dark Side. She got up and ran. She could hear him chasing after her. She ran down the basement corridors without looking behind and she found something that may have been a way out. In a collapsed section the slabs of marble revealed a secret staircase under the floor. Another level in the underground. The opening was small but so was she, and besides, she had squeezed in smaller openings before. Beyond the opening she found worn down stairs, slippery and wet. She started running down in the darkness.

Rey ended up in a long hall with sculpted columns on each side. Each column had different species depicted on it. The only light came from a lamp that looked like a giant crystal protruding from the ceiling. It gave a dim green light. She walked slowly looking at all the different people on the columns, all the old Jedi. They looked different than the ones depicted in stone on Ahch-To, felt different. They seemed different in a way Rey could not define. She stopped beneath the crystal in the celling. She noticed that the floor was strange here, made of metal. She moved the dust with the tip of her foot to reveal something very similar to the Jedi symbol but it...wasn't the same. Something felt strange in the air so she raised her eyes and saw Kylo Ren standing in the doorway. He wasn't looking at her, not now at least. Like she did before, he was analyzing the people on the nearest column to him. He was in awe, and when he saw her looking at him, he started walking to her with long, determined strides.

When he was just 2 steps away from her he stopped. They were looking in each other eyes in silence. Rey felt...almost empty. She felt comfortable and safe. Looking at him, at his scar, his eyes, his lips, all of it left her very calm. Even his intense over-analyzing gaze did not bother her. Kylo Ren opened his mouth to say something but a sudden crack made him stop. The floor fell. They realized too late they were standing on a door and now they were rolling down without control. Rey tried to stop herself but a powerful pain in her thigh made her scream. She kept rolling, trying to protect her head and when she finally stopped she laid motionless on the floor. Her thigh was throbbing and she could feel a warm, sticky liquid on it. She mustered her courage and tried to drag her body to stand in an upright position. She whimpered when she saw the state of her leg. From the middle of her thigh a sharp metal fragment was protruding. Blood was gushing out in waves, pulsating and filling the floor. She did not know what to do, she placed her hands on the metal, thinking she should yank it out of there.

"NO" yelled Ren. He crawled fast near her and caught her hands. "Don't remove it. That thing is stopping you from dying. It's slowing down the bleeding."

"Wha…What do I do then? It's not stopping like this! Where are we?"

"We'll figure that out later, Rey, now we need to solve this bleeding"

"We?"

"Yes"

Kylo Ren looked deep in her eyes to reassure her everything was going to be O.K. and turned around to look for something. He soon found a similar sharp metal object and used it to cut a long thin portion out of his black robes.

"I need to tie this above the injury. It will work as a tourniquet, it will stop the bleeding."

"What…are you trying to do?"

" _Save you_. Save us"

"No". Rey realized what above the injury meant and she did not want that, she did not want him so close, so intimately close. Ren probably heard her thoughts.

"Rey. _I need to save you_. If you die, I die with you. I have no way of getting out of this without you, this Temple accepted us together, and we need to leave together. Rey, I am not here as your enemy or your… _I don't want you to be afraid…of me…not like that_. Rey, that injury will kill you if you don't let me help you.

"Fine, fine, I am…I'm not feeling so well…"

Ren did not wait to hear the rest of it. His left hand brushed between her legs to pass the cloth around her thigh. And then, firmly, he tied a knot so tight and sudden Rey screamed. She raised a hand and squeezed his shoulder.

"It's ok. The worst part passed. _I think_ "

The bleeding slowed down even more and stopped.

"What now?" Rey said faintly. She felt slightly dizzy and started observing Kylo Ren. He seemed so very different form the first time she saw him on Takodana, different even from the last time she saw him, sprawled on the ground on Starkiller. His hair was wet and almost covered his eyes, and his robes were drenched in mud. His face was like an open book, putting every thought on display for Rey. The red scar almost healed, and his gaze was focused with a sad thing about it. Loneliness. They had that in common. Fear, too. "Ren?"

"I need…I need to get out that piece of metal so I…so I can heal you"

Rey found his hesitations disturbing. He, the Master of the Knights of Ren, hesitated?

"Heal…me?"

"With the Force. It is a special technique"

"So…who taught you that?"

"…Skywalker"

"Isn't it a Jedi ability? Can Sith use it?"

"I am not a Sith … _but I was once a Jedi Knight_ …Trust me, it will be just fine."

Rey nodded in approval and Ren removed his gloves. She was shocked to see his right hand replaced with a robotic one. He grasped the shard with his metal fingers and placed his left hand on her thigh.

"1…2…3"

He yanked the shard out and more blood left her body. Kylo Ren placed his left hand over the hole in her leg, and concentrated his focus on the task at hand. Ret was so dizzy and lightheaded she could not understand his mumblings. All she perceived was his low, mesmerizing voice carrying her away to an enchanted forest covered in snow, and then further and further away. She could see it. The island. She could see them there. The last thing Rey saw was Kylo Ren's cocky, annoying, lovable smile as he leaned in to kiss her under the stars.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Three masked figures were standing in the rain looking down at a grunting, moaning heap of clothes on the ground: their fourth, injured companion. He too was dressed in black and masked, his mask amplifying his heavy breathing and moaning ten times. The Knights of Ren were soaking wet, covered in mud and blood. The Rogue snapped out of this stupefied state first. He clenched the lightsaber in his hand and quickly placed it back inside his robes, after which he crouched and reached for Armory's mask. The Jedi scum's attack was so sudden they barely realized what had happened. An old man like that, Jedi or not… managed to surprised them?

"Stop! We are not allowed to remove our masks during a mission, and our mission is not over yet!" Heavy said in a loud voice.

Rogue ignored his yelling, still searching for the opening mechanism while yelling back at him: "and you would rather watch him die in front of you? He is suffocating. Damn Skywalker cut of his leg and now you want him to suffocate? We need to regroup! We have to contact Monk and get on the cruiser."

Armory let out a sigh and tried to move. The pain was too great for him and his breathing pattern became irregular, panting then stopping and then starting breathing heavy again. The Rogue fought to find the switches that would unlatch the helmet from his head.

"We need to take him to the cruiser and get him medical care."

"You have too much sentiment, Rogue. Our orders are to capture or kill Skywalker. And if Kylo Ren sees him without the mask on a mission..."

"Well Kylo Ren is not here is he? He went after the scavenger and he left us. And I don't remember him naming you in charge while he's gone so don't presume to tell me what to do!" Rogue's high pitched voice hurt Heavy's ears but his companion was right about one thing...

"So, it all comes back to what I said, doesn't it?" Sniper moved around, clearly happy he wasn't the only one to notice Ren's strange behavior.

Monk raised his wrist to use his comlink. He tried contacting Kylo Ren for the third time since they last saw him. No response came back.

"We cannot take down Luke Skywalker. We have to get back to the cruiser" Rogue repeated.

"Now that is an overstatement. Just because Armory was stupid enough to let himself get cut doesn't mean the three of us can't take down the old man" the Sniper said pacing to and fro.

Rogue finally managed to find the opening mechanism and removed Armory's helmet. He was a man with ginger hair and green eyes. The paleness of his face made his freckles more obvious. The Rogue removed a glove to reveal a small, thin hand he placed on The Armory's forehead. Even with all the cold rain, Rogue felt his forehead colder still and sticky from sweat. His eyes were glazed with a veil of pain and he barely perceived anything happening around him. Rogue looked down at the remnants of his leg. It was cut at the middle of his thigh and smelled of burnt flesh. Rogue huffed beneath the heavy helmet. He hated the smell of burnt flesh. Armory started trembling and could barely keep his eyes open.

"We need to get to the cruiser"

"Stop repeating that, you coward. We need to catch the Jedi scum" Sniper yelled.

"What about Armory, you prick?"

"What about him? Leave him here. If he's still alive when we get back, it means he's earned it."

"You can't be serious, you sick bastard. He's our brother!"

"Our brother?" Sniper chuckled. He paced nervously around them.

"If you don't care about him, then at least take time to consider yourself" Rogue snapped back at him and when he stopped pacing he continued "it's three to one now. If we call Monk and regroup we'll leave Armory in the cruiser and take care of the Jedi bastard four to one. That's better, you oaf."

"Wasting ti..."

Sniper didn't get the chance to finish his sentence: Rogue's purple lightsaber glowed and sizzled in the rainy night just inches away from his throat.

"WE. NEED. TO. GET. BACK. TO. THE. CRUISER."

"I concur" both black clad figures turned toward Heavy. He was standing in the rain like some heavy onyx statue, immovable and insensitive. "We have more chances of catching Skywalker and the rebel scums he has with him if we regroup with Monk." He always took the lead in Kylo Ren's absence although no one specifically bestowed that honor on him. It just happened, to the utter annoyance of Sniper.

"...fine" Sniper was obviously displeased. He wanted to share the praise of capturing Skywalker with as few people as possible. This mission was the kind of mission that could get him the rank of Master. Make him Kylo Ren's equal. It would allow him the right to use the Ren title and choose a worthy name for himself.

Rogue crouched back near the Armory and caressed his check. There was no sign of Luke Skywalker anywhere. No doubt he went off to search for the girl. Maybe he left after Kylo Ren, The Jedi Killer. Maybe he was calling for backup from The Resistance.

Heavy used his wrist comlink to call the Monk.

"Where are you? We need to regroup. We have one injured."

"I'll be there in 2 minutes. What's the nature of the injury?"

"Severed leg. By way of lightsaber."

""Light...Who did that? Did..."

"Skywalker"

"...I'll ready the medibay."

The minutes passed by slowly and the dark cruiser appeared and landed near the gate. The hydraulics hissed and the trap door lowered. Sniper darted inside followed by Heavy levitating Armory. Rogue could not help but notice the newest dents and holes the cruiser had from the battle with the rebels' garbage spacecraft.

Inside, the miniature medibay the cruiser had was set up. Heavy placed Armory on a metal slab and a medical droid started caring for him.

Monk was standing in the co-pilot's seat pondering the events that just transpired.

"Where's Ren?"

"He went off after his scavenger girl. Who knows and who cares? We have a shot at getting Skywalker." Sniper was eager to answer, restless and wanting nothing more than to go back out there and find the Jedi scum.

"You say that with such ease. I believe you underestimate the man." Monk said.

Rogue removed his helmet. In fact, Rogue was young woman about 25 years old, with bright pink hair, piercings in her nose and lips and numerous earrings. She had two plain black dots tattooed on her left cheek and looked fiercely at the Sniper

"We all know you hate Ren. If you think capturing Skywalker would make you a master you are wrong. Supreme Leader doesn't give away that rank with ease."

"Oh yeah? Why wouldn't he? Discipline and self-control are not required, look at our current master. He can barely keep it together. From what I can tell, the only necessary requirement is killing Jedi, and we have one right here."

"Exactly. From what you can tell. Neither of us knows what's on Supreme Leader's mind and he is above us all, a wise and just leader. And it is not your place to presume anything from him!" Rogue yelled back at him.

She was furious, throwing accusatory stares at Sniper. The other wasn't going to allow her to yell at him so he raised his blaster in her face.

"One more word..."

"And what? If you think I'll fear you because you burned worlds and took countless lives...remember I was right behind you killing the countless ones you missed."

Sniper was even madder after her provocation. He made a few steps forward and now Rogue starred down the barrel of his riffle.

"Stop it you fools! Have you made loss of your senses? We have a mission to finish and you fight each other?" yelled Heavy.

Heavy didn't wait for a response from either and used the Force to separate them, throwing them at the walls of the cruiser.

"We have two main objectives: find and catch the rebel scums and find our master. The pirate filth have alerted the Order of the presence of the Jedi, so surely someone has sent troops here. This is top priority for the Order so except Star Destroyer class and above. Our secondary objective is to clear the perimeter for the troops, make sure the pirates are all dead or gone, and establish a base of operations from which Stormtroopers can help in the search. Monk, we all saw the battle, what can you tell me about the rebels' ship?"

"They came here aboard a Correlian freighter. We fought but we locked in battle just for a brief time. I guess it left to pick-up Skywalker. Anyway, I believe I have successfully blown their hyperdrive."

"The rebel scums have no way of leaving with a blown hyperdrive so they are here and not leaving anytime soon. And we shall locate them. Tell me, why didn't you pursue the enemy?"

"The pirates used and anti-aircraft gun on me that took out the cruiser's controls. I had lost control and avoided crashing thanks to that resourceful astromech. I understand why Kylo Ren keeps it close. "

"Try and contact Master Ren on his comlink from here."

Monk tried two times but he only received static.

"It seems…his comlink is out of range."

"We experienced this problem outside as well. Can you determine the cause?"

"There are only two situations: if Master Ren was far away or deep underground. I believe it is more likely he is underground."

"This is troublesome my knights…" Heavy started addressing the others

"We are not yours; we are Kylo Ren's" Monk said in a flat way, as if he was announcing the next cruiser to leave from a busy docking bay. Somehow, that made him sound so much more threatening.

"…We need to search the old fashion way. Meter by meter, comb the aria. We leave now" Heavy continued unfazed.

"What happened with Skywalker?" Monk asked Rogue

"He came out of nowhere and attacked Armory. Armory fell down immediately. I guess Skywalker would have killed him, but Sniper and I stopped him. He left afterwards and we regrouped. Now we can hunt him down and make him pay."

Rogue donned her helmet again and they all checked their lightsabers, securing them to their belts. They rarely used them as primary weapons but this situation was special. They were not hunting down measly Force users or inanimate holocrons. They were hunting down a Jedi Master

Outside the rain would not relent. The Temple was dark and silent, looming over the swampy terrain. Even with all the rain and with the mask Monk could still feel the stench of death. The Dark Side of the force filled their minds and hearts.

They decided to split in two parties, Rogue with Monk and Heavy with Sniper. Each took one half of the courtyard to check and sweep. Any man still living was killed on the spot whether by Force choke, blaster shot or lightsaber it mattered not. That night they were the bringers of death. They were the bringers of eternal darkness.

They went on like this for hours, checking each building and room, killing and destroying. No sign of the Jedi Killer or the scavenger anywhere.

"We should check inside the buliding, Rogue."

"Aye, we should".

Monk and Rogue entered the two stories temple with their lightsabers ignited. They did not want any surprises. The only light came from their lightsabers, glowing purple in the dark. A sound from another room made them turn slowly and walk without noise toward it. They broke down the door and killed the people inside, men and women. They spared the children, they would be useful for the Order, fresh blood for the Stormtrooper program. The air filled with the smell of burnt flesh and fear.

"One would think the Jedi scum might actually try to stop us for once." Rogue broke the silence as they were sweeping the second floor.

"You shouldn't call him scum. He is our enemy and I will fight him to death, but he deserves respect."

"Why? He is scum, and the Order will eradicate him and his kind from the Galaxy"

"Because he is a formidable enemy. Calling him names will make you dismiss him, and we should not underestimate him."

The continued their sweep, checked every room and killed every man or woman.

"So...what is your story?" Rogue asked sudenly

"My...story?"

"Yes. Why did you join the Knights of Ren? I believe order and discipline are lacking from this Galaxy. The weak Republic and the Jedi scums are useless. I found that out on my own skin. My family was killed by bounty hunters, paid by Rotta the Hutt just because they established a fair trade route to Tattooine. My father asked the Republic for help but they did nothing. I still have it, you know? The Tattooine tattoo. I was on Lothal, some bounty hunters found me. I killed them all. Kylo Ren found me there and recruited me. I owe him. He gave my life a purpose."

Silence fell on them again. Monk was checking the last rooms of the floor.

"So..."

"Why are you telling me this, Rogue? We have no need to know each other stories."

Rogue was a bit set back by the edge in his tone. Monk was never the one for many words. Her tone betrayed nothing of her worries: "we should leave and continue our sweep of the courtyard."

"Agreed"

Even with all the mystery Rogue did not regret joining the Knights of Ren. She had found wisdom in Supreme Leader Snoke's words and a much better sense of belonging with the group. She had found a purpose with the First Order and was adamant to carry on the legacy of the Galactic Empire.

Heavy and Sniper completed the sweep of the courtyard and proceeded to enter the old building. They saw it immediately: the aftermath of the battle. Lightsabers marks covered the walls. Heavy bent down and picked up the helmet. It had a lightsaber mark on its side, cold and not too deep.

"So, the Master has lost his head?" Sniper said, chuckling. "We should all go find ourselves such marvelous scavenger girls."

"No, it is just the helmet. By the looks of it I doubt this swing touched his skin."

"Your sense of humor continues to amaze me."

"I do not appreciate yours."

"Obviously" said Sniper. He was pacing around, analyzing the marks on the walls and columns. "They fought viciously. Both of them."

"Have you started to doubt your earlier words? Maybe our master has a plan?"

"You know I don't. We've been in this long enough to know each other well. They fought like crazy but I see no body. It looks more like a lover's quarrel to me"

"Lover's quarrel? Are you out of your mind?"

"Just look. Does this look like a true fight to you? They hit the wall more than they hit each other. I just feel that this wasn't a fight to the death…"

"Master Ren wants them alive for interrogations"

"…on either sides. What is it with you and him? We have been knights for far longer than Ren but we are not yet masters. I hate the man for it. I would not cry for him if I found him dead. I'd be happy. Why are you defending him Heavy?"

"It is our duty as knights to pledge our lives to the masters and the Supreme Leader. I am doing what is right."

"Right…always bowing in front of them"

Heavy did not answer Sniper, passed him and went on to search the basement. They searched for hours but they were unable to find any trace of the two missing youths.

At the crack of dawn they assembled again in front of the main gate.

"Anything?" Heavy asked the other two.

"Nothing on our end." Rogue said. "You"?

"We discovered lightsaber marks inside one of the buildings. We also found Master Kylo Ren's helmet there with a lightsaber mark on it. It's clear our master fought the scavenger but there is no body, be it his or hers. We checked and double checked every level of the place and found nothing. It's like the ground swallowed them." Heavy grunted, obviously displeased by his failure.

Sniper was fidgeting behind him "No sign of the bastard and that wookie either. They left the Temple and its grounds. Now that the sun is up we could use the cruiser to overfly the aria, find that garbage of a ship"

The Heavy nodded his approval. They had to locate the rebels.

Loud, screeching sounds made them look up in the sky and wait for the TIE fighters to appear. And they did in the next minutes, circling the aria before heading back were they came from. The Order was here.

Several shuttles appeared and grew larger and larger as they approached to land. When they finally did dozens of Stormtroopers descended. They automatically acted out their protocol, securing the perimeter and putting labor droids to pile the bodies. The new day's light made the carnage that more visible, that more shocking. Hundreds lied dead at the feet of the Temple, all slaughtered by just six men.

From the largest cruiser a chrome armored Stormtrooper descended. It was Captain Phasma and she came to them directly.

"Where is Master Ren?" she addressed Heavy

"He is missing in action Captain, we lost track of him during the battle."

"That is not good news knight. I'll contact General Hux about this. He might want to...take special actions to locate Master Ren. What about this place?"

"It belonged to the Kasinja Warrior Clan. It now belongs to the Order."

"Anything else, knight?"

"Skywalker, captain. We followed a lead that brought us here from the moon of the Selax system. We need to find these rebels. Master Ren's direct orders."

"Leave that task to me. General Hux wants a word with you"

"I won't leave that task to you, shinny. It's our task. I'll talk to your General and then I'll come back to finish what I started." Heavy grunted at her in a low, threatening tone.

"Then we shall have a joint task force, knight. We are under direct orders from Supreme Leader Snoke to locate Luke Skywalker."

The knights left Phasma without saying another word and headed back to their cruiser to contact the general and debrief him. Phasma started marching toward her men to dispense orders and prepare the temporary base. She was seemingly unfazed by the meeting with them but, truth be told, no one liked working with those black clad reapers.

Phasmas' and Hux' presence meat the Finalizer was looming above them. Everything was dropped when the news of Skywalkers' location reached the First Order. The Supreme Leader deployed one of his most efficient generals and one of his deadliest battlecruisers in a heartbeat.


	5. Chapter 5

Kylo Ren observed Rey. She was unconscious and slummed against the rock wall. Her hair was messy, wet and filled with mud and bits of leaves. Kylo raised his hand and touched her cheek. Her skin felt cold and sticky, and his hand left a red mark in her own blood. " _She's cold. She's wet. She lost a lot of blood. Kriff, how much is it..."_ He looked at the floor, trying to evaluate the amount of blood on it. " _Half a litter? A litter? Yes...about that much."_ He removed the makeshift tourniquet from her thigh.

Kylo reached and touched her clothes. They were soaking wet and cold. _"Damn it. Damn this cold."_ The knight raised to his feet and, even though he knew it would be useless, he tried to use his wrist comlink. No answer came back. They were too deep underground. Ren removed his belt and broke the clasp to reveal Hux's tracker device. It was inactive, of course. Ren cursed and felt the sudden need to demolish the place. " _No, no...I need to concentrate and find a way keep her warm. Otherwise we'll both die here."_

The knight opened his heavy overcoat and felt the inside. It was warm and dry, and Ren could not thank the tailors of the First Order more than in that second. He looked for a suitable spot on the floor and placed the overcoat there. He scooped Rey up and carried her, placing her gently down next to it. He had to take off her cold and wet clothes so he started by removing the wraps on her arms. While supporting her torso in an upright position with his left hand, he gently tugged the blouse over her head. He lowered her on the overcoat and took off her boots and trousers. He looked at the spot where she had been impaled. The skin was pink and a scar could be seen. His healing wasn't perfect but it saved her. Kylo Ren bundled her up in his overcoat. At least now she was dry.

He stood up and started evaluating his surroundings. The room they were in now had a low ceiling, sculpted walls and had about 13 meters in length. The staircase they rolled on was worn out by time. On each side he saw wooden statues. He touched the nearest and felt the Force in it. It was extremely old. There was no light in the staircase hall so he doubled back and picked up Anakin's lightsaber with his flesh hand. He squeezed the handle and felt the energy seeping in his palm. He could see him sitting on something. A tall blond man in black Jedi robes said "what have I done?" in disbelief of his own actions. " _Yes...what have you done Grandfather? What have I done?"_ Ren pushed the vision away and moved the lightsaber in his right hand. He went back on the stairs and ignited it. The statues were washed in blue light and Ren could see their faces now. There were six statues, three on each side. The ones on the right had padawan braids made of beads. The wooden statues were dressed in armor and had knives, swords and lightsabers on their belts. Some were missing from the belt, fallen to the ground. He touched a lightsaber. He felt a faint surge of energy from the kyber crystal. He went up to the trap door just to make sure it was closed shut and could not get any signal through. He couldn't even sense the world outside although he should have felt his knights and Skywalker. He turned around and noticed an engraving just above the arch door: _"Behold our forefathers along with their padawans and remember: these were our first steps. Now, take yours_ ". Ren considered a few moments and took out a small probe droid out of his pocket and released it in the hall. After it finished scanning Ren chose the closest statue and demolished it _._ He left the head and arranged the wood close to Rey. He used Force lightning to ignite it. Smoke rose lazily followed by vivacious flames. He felt heat rising, warming his flesh hand. He looked at Rey, snugged in his overcoat, and touched her cheek. It was warmer. He was relieved. He placed her clothes next to the fire to dry them and left his red lightsaber near her.

Ren looked at the timer on his wrist:

 _30 hours_

He left the Selax system in the Mid Rim 30 hours ago. How long have they stayed down there?

There was no time to waste and Ren started meticulously analyzing the walls after he launched his probe again. If they had any chances, he must know what they had found. The wall opposite to the staircase had 2 doors: one on the right and one on the left. They were made of stone. When Ren touched one he felt the Force resonate within, and he realized he needed Rey to open them. The walls showed scenes from various battles and councils. They told a long story. Ren strained to identify them. " _Kriff I can't place any of these events. I need my database. Are these so old or am I so out of touch? Or was this whole temple a case of history written by the victorious? What have we found?"_

 _32 hours_

Ren sat crouched near the doors analyzing one of the bas-reliefs when he heard movement coming from Rey. He looked toward her. She didn't take notice of him. She extended her hand and touched his lightsaber. Her eyes became glossy, and she turned around, trying to dodge something that was not there. " _She is...having visions? Is she...that much like me?"_ Rey dropped the lightsaber on the floor and got up on her feet as fast as she could. She was breathing fast and had her eyes were wide open. She squealed when she realized she was only wearing her thin undergarments and was wrapped in his overcoat. She finally realized he was watching her.

"What...where are my clothes? What happened?" she demanded from him.

"What did you see?" he asked, not acknowledging her embarrassment.

"What? I..." her eyes widened even more. "You will tell me what happened!" Her cheeks were colored red now. She looked beautiful.

"Answer my question. You had a vision? What did you see?" he persisted, moving his gaze to a neutral spot just above the archway. He sensed her discomfort.

"I'm the one almost naked here. Where is my lightsaber?"

"It's not yours, but I'll lend it to you." Ren told her in a harsh tone. "To answer your question: you lost a lot of blood, you were wet and cold. I feared you might suffer from hypothermia, so I removed your clothes and wrapped you in my overcoat. It's waterproof and quite warm."

"My clothes?" Rey looked horrified. _"He undressed me?"_

"I front of you, near the fire."

She turned and found her clothes. She picked them up and the content on her face told Ren they were almost dry.

"I'll change back in them. They are...dry enough for me. Here, take your overcoat"

"Keep it. It's going to get colder in the temple. The fire's burning here for two hours."

Rey looked surprised at him. "Inside the Temple?"

"The door we fell through - it's locked. Our only way out is through these doors, and the rest of the temple. It is not going to be easy. I suspect we landed in some sort of a test designed for masters and their new padawans."

"My master is out there" she said, with her hand pointing toward the surface. "I have nothing to do with you or this...test. I will change and then I will open those metal doors. Turn around"

"...turn around? Yes...sure" Ren turned back and pretended to analyze the bas-relief. "I know you refused my offer. I know you chose to go to Skywalker. But this temple accepted us together. Feel it, Rey, The Force. If you listen with your mind open you'll realize that you can't leave without me."

"You are not my master."

"And yet we are connected by something stronger than you can possibly imagine. It's called a Force Bond. They are rare and supposedly hard to form. Ours was forged during the interrogation. It's growing stronger. "

"I don't care about what you are saying. You're a monster and I have in no way a… bond with you"

Ren looked at her. How could she not feel it? The Bond grew stronger each time he entered her mind, and he could feel it in every waking moment. Not to mention the desert world dreams he started having, dreams of Jakku, not Tatooine.

"Stop it"

"Stop what?"

"Looking at me like...like that"

"Like what, Rey?"

"Like...you'd want...like that...just STOP" She was flustered and extended her hand: "the lightsaber. I want it back"

"Fine". Ren stood up and gave her back the blue lightsaber.

Rey took it and stormed up the stairs. He saw the blue light and waited patiently until she came back disappointed and thoughtful.

"These were our first steps? I...I heard it before"

"I think you have a rare talent: psychometry. You might also poses Force foresight."

"Why would you say that, Ren?"

"You had a vision from my lightsaber. I have them too. I used to have really bad dreams because of them. They stopped bothering me when I learned to control and understand them. You had visions when you touched my lightsaber. And I think you have visions from my grandfather's lightsaber as well. You can see the past, albeit a bit distorted, and you can catch glimpses of the future. Am I wrong?"

"No...No, I have them. The visions. Master Luke told me it's nothing to worry about. That things like these can't hold memories. Objects can resonate with the Force but they don't have the Force."

"Well, yes and no. Objects can be imprinted by the essence of the persons using them. Like me, you have an extremely developed version of psychometry. You can extract these imprints made by the Force and perceive emotions, sounds and sights. You don't even have to concentrate to make the visions appear. Some have spent years to obtain your level. But those were a few. People like us are even rarer. The Jedi council feared psychometry could lead to the Dark Side if used unwisely and its study was limited. I guess Skywalker finds it hard to believe you have it. Or he is afraid you have it and chose to ignore the problem.

"Why would he be afraid?"

"Because he can't teach you. In the same way he couldn't teach me. The Empire destroyed most of the Jedi lore. Skywalker spent most of the past 30 years trying to piece back together the knowledge the Jedi Order has lost. Since psychometry was not encouraged and few ever practiced it we had little to study. I gained more control over it as the years passed, discovering ways to trigger the visions only when I wanted to. Skywalker was...lost. He can use it too, but his is somewhat undeveloped, so he couldn't help me. I helped myself. I can teach you what I know. It should work fast if we use the Bond"

"I don't want you to teach me anything"

"You are so stubborn. It will be the death of us".

 _33 hours_

Rey was standing in front of the doors trying to make them open. Her face betrayed her frustration. Ren watched her carefully, waiting for her to finally realize she isn't going anywhere. _"Stupid, stupid doors…Argh, I don't want to…but I don't have a choice, do I?"_ Rey touched the stone again. She leaned her forehead on the door

"You win, Ren. You are right. We need to open these doors together"

He jumped up and was right by her in two steps. They were both standing in front of the doors. Together, they concentrated their wills but nothing happened.

"Stay on the right, Rey."

"Why?"

"The padawan statues are on the right." he said, pointing toward the staircase

"Oh, so now I'm your trainee?" she snapped at him.

"I have been studying the Force for several years now. I doubt it would be the other way around." he said in an arrogant manner.

They switched places and tried again to no avail.

"Well this...is pointless" sighed Rey. "So much for you theory, master" she said mockingly.

"No, it's not. I think I need to teach you something. Actively teach you, not like we did until now"

"You never taught me anything, monster" she declared.

"How did you mind tricked that Stormtrooper, scavenger?"

"I...I was lucky. The Force knew I was in trouble and it helped me" Rey answered without blinking.

"That's **not** how the Force works" Ren was half annoyed, half amused. "No, you took that from my head. Unwillingly and unintentionally of course. And I had not realized what happened. You did it a second time in the woods. Just before you gave me these." Ren raised his robotic hand to point at his scar. He looked at her, thinking just how special she was. She raised her hand and touched his scar. Ren jolted. It reminded him of Starkiller.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to touch you."

"It's alright."

"So" she began, avoiding the subject of Starkiller, "if you have to by teach me something so we could open these doors, I agree. Teach me to control this psychometry thing."

"Yes" Ren answered, eager to show her.

 _34 hours_

They sat crossed-legged in front of each other.

"Now what?"

"Well, we need to understand why you need these visions."

"I don't need them"

"Yes...you do but you have no idea why. First vision?"

"I heard a child scream, I followed he sound and I found this" Rey told him while moving the lightsaber. "I touched it and I had a vision. I saw a hallway and two men dueling, and a little boy at the end of it. I saw The Jedi Academy burning and Master Luke knelt near R2. And...You."

"Me?"

"Yes, you. In the woods on Starkiller...and here I guess."

"Here?"

"You stopped that clan leader from smashing my head. I saw that in the vision. Why would your grandfather's lightsaber show me all this? I have no connection with your family."

 _"Oh, you do, you do somehow. I saw you: in my dreams, in my visions, in my future"_ Kylo Ren thought but he did not share these thoughts with Rey.

"Others?" he asked.

"I didn't get any visions as strong as that one. I...I was scared before when we went in the Jedi Temple, and I touched the saber. I felt confident and foolishly brave. It was reassuring to touch it but it also got me in trouble, I made a mistake and I drew the warriors on our location. During the fight with the warriors someone threw a grenade. I was down. I felt lost, and I didn't know what to do, and I just saw him. A man in..."

"...black Jedi robes with blond hair?"

"...yes. Is he your grandfather? Darth Vader?

Ren nodded. "If you saw him like that…he was still a Jedi Knight. What did he say?" He was suddenly intrigued and curious. He leaned closer to Rey.

"Just Ahsoka, get up. Do you know who she was?" Rey asked

"She was his apprentice, Ahsoka Tano. I have no idea if she is still alive. Setting all that aside you have your answer. You need help and guidance and through psychometry you extract what you need from the lightsaber. And it's only natural you find them. A lightsaber is a Jedi's life."

"That's fine but what do I do to stop them?"

"You must seek the answers you need within you."

"That is not a real answer"

"Here I'll show you how I managed to stop them."

Ren extended his flesh hand. She took it. The knight contained a smile when he slipped inside her mind and felt her enter his. They were in each other heads and he showed her what she needed. He became greedy and searched for the vision she had when she first touched the legacy saber. He saw the little girl held by a Crolute.

" _Stop it. I didn't give you permission to see that"_

 _"I want to see them"_

 _"You can't take whatever you can, Ren"_ she warned him, poking at his own bad memories and visions.

Reluctantly Ren retreated, he didn't want her to see more of his childhood and especially **that** period of his life. Rey savored her success with obvious glee.

"You should meditate. Think about yourself, try and find…balance. You don't need the lightsaber to tell you what to do or how to feel. You need to count on yourself" he advised her.

Rey nodded and assumed a meditation position. Ren watched as she inhaled and exhaled slowly, reminding him of his own teachings.

 _36 hours_

They were standing in front of the doors again. They both raised their arms and concentrated their thoughts on opening them. This time they were better synchronized and focused. With a low rumble the doors started to lower. Rey was grinning, showing off all her perfect teeth. Ren barely smirked but he was truly happy.

"You have a timer on your wrist. What does it say?"

"36 hours and ten minutes."

"Ok...let's do this. See you on the other side. May the Force be with you" Rey wished him while skipping through her door.

Ren stood there looking after her until he couldn't see her anymore. He already longed for her. He knew he had to go through with it but there was something keeping him from entering. " _I have a bad feeling about this."_

Ren passed the doorway and walked down the stone corridor. After a turn the scenery changed. He wasn't on Parrellia anymore. No, this was...

 _"Starkiller?!"_

He was inside the thermal oscillator. He saw it...the bridge. There was someone standing on it.

" _Father?"_ Ren made a few more steps until he saw clearly. "FATHER!" Ren shouted, not caring if anyone could hear him, not caring if anyone saw him while he ran like a child to Han Solo. Han turned. He had a huge whole in his chest. Ren stopped just a few steps away, horrified. He did this. He could feel he was on the brink of crying. He jumped and hugged his father. He felt cold and he backed away... it wasn't Han anymore. Ben Solo was looking at Kylo Ren, masked and draped in black.

"You are weak and foolish, such a waste of energy" the mechanized voice was menacing and impersonal.

The monster ignited his lightsaber and stabbed Ben in the chest in a rapid movement. He gasped. The pain was so intense he could barely keep his eyes open. It was tearing him apart. He staggered a few steps back and fell in the white abyss.

He landed in sand. He was on Tatooine. The planet's primary was burning bright. He felt cold. He felt the fear, the anger, and the hate, he heard the heavy breathing. The monster was coming for him. He got up and wanted to run, but to no avail. It was in front of him. Masked, looming tall over him, the monster's shadow covered Ben. More machine than man, Darth Vader blocked his path. Ben felt his knees would give in.

"Ben Organa Solo, you have disappointed me for the last time." Darth Vader ignited his red lightsaber.

Ben looked down and in his hand he saw a lightsaber, his **old** lightsaber. The one he left on that forsaken rock. He ignited it: it was a double-bladed lightsaber with one blade green, one blade blue.


	6. Chapter 6

Rey tightened the overcoat around her. _"The bastard was right. It's cold here."_ It was too long and she was dragging the ends on the floor. The sleeves were folded three times and her arm wraps were securing it to her waistline. She felt like floating in it. Rey placed a hand on one of the walls. She felt dizzy. " _He was right about this too,"_ Rey thought reminding his warnings. "I _need to go on. I don't want to die here."_ She kept going and after a turn the scenery changed. It was a desert planet with white sand. In the distance she saw a huge dome. A city, she thought. She was walking toward it when she heard that voice.

"Rey, you've taken your first steps"

She turned around fast. In front of her she saw a man with a kind face wearing Jedi robes. He had auburn hair and blue eyes. He smiled with warmth toward her. The man...loved her.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Obi-Wan Kenobi. I was a Jedi Knight"

"Was?"

"After the destruction of the Jedi Order in the Clone Wars such titles lost their meaning, and...ah, truth be told...I did not always act as the Jedi Council deemed appropriate. I believe my master is to blame for that...and my padawan" Obi Wan chuckled.

"How do you know me?"

"That is not for me to tell you, my child. It is for you to discover."

Rey was disappointed by the answer but she did not let him see that. "Where am I here? What am I supposed to do?" she asked, swinging her arms around her to point out the desolate surroundings.

"To answer your first question: this is a representation of Mandalore. You are on Parellia. As for the second..."

"It is for me to discover."

"Yes. Your master taught you well." Obi-Wan smiled again.

Rey smiled back at him. It was something familiar about him yet she could not tell what. She closed her eyes, trying to feel the Force and let the Light guide her. She felt it. She opened her eyes and headed toward the city. Obi Wan Kenobi was walking by her side.

"You must be careful of the young Skywalker."

"You mean Kylo Ren?"

"In a way, child. I speak of Ben Organa-Solo, his true self. Kylo Ren is only the monster that is consuming him and wants to rise from his ashes. The truth is that the boy is far stronger than the one you call Supreme Leader Snoke could have imagined. "

"You speak as if they are two different persons"

"They are, from a certain point of view" Obi Wan smiled with warmth.

"I don't understand. It is not like that at all. You can't speak of him like that. Ben Solo made his choice to join the Dark Side and to follow Snoke. He made the choice to kill his own father"

"Patricide is a heinous crime, that is true. But do not be quick to judge, child. One might have made horrible decisions in the past, but when the time is right they can make the right ones, if they have the will...and the right encouragement. The Dark Side does terrible things to a person. The hunger for power can never be satisfied and it is always growing stronger, fueled by hate and anger. They cloud one's judgement and makes one a slave to one's own hate."

"He is power hungry and full of hatred. He fears he'll never be as strong as Darth Vader."

"Do you know what Darth Vader's most powerful act was?"

"He destroyed the Jedi Order."

"No, child. He defeated the darkness. He came back to the Light as Anakin Skywalker and destroyed the Sith."

Rey looked stunned at him. What did he meant by that? Before she could ask him another question, Obi-Wan raised his hand to stop her:

"You've arrived at your destination, my child. We shall talk again."

Rey looked on baffled as the man vanished in a blue mist. She was at the base of the huge dome now, near an access point. The writing above it was in a different language than Basic and she could not understand it. She entered and realized there was an entire city inside. It was huge, with multi-stories buildings and parks. But there was not a soul there. The entire city was abandoned. She walked down the street and found staircases that lead her to the upper levels. She found a motorcycle and took it. The engine purred between her legs and she was in the air. She was floating, looking all around, and admiring the landscape. Her gaze stopped on a palace in the middle of the city. She pointed the motorcycle toward it and, before she knew it, she was parking right in front. She entered the palace with the lightsaber in hand.

The palace was sumptuous. Rey had never imagined such luxury could exist in the Galaxy. She entered the throne room. It was luminous, with floor-to-ceiling windows. The throne was at the end, in front of an orange stained glass. She crossed the entire room and touched the arms of the throne. She was fascinated by the stained glass because she had never seen anything so beautifully crafted.

A sound made her turn. A small, slender figure was walking toward her, its face covered by a large hood. Rey immediately ignited the lightsaber and assumed an attack position.

"Who are you?"

"So quick to anger...I like it" the cloaked figure said as it removed its hood

Rey was shocked to see she was looking at herself. This version of her was very different. Dark Rey moved with a certain seductiveness Rey never knew existed. She had her hair loose, and she wore an outfit similar in style to Kylo Ren's: all black, tight fitting pants with a large overcoat. Half her face was covered by the huge collar neck of the overcoat. Her boots made the hall echo with a low CLANK-CLANK. She ignited her lightsaber when she was closer, and it was blood-red. She twirled it in a provocative manner, and taunted Rey:

"So...shall we dance?"

Dark Rey jumped and closed the gap between them. Their lightsabers clashed with sparks flying all around. She hit so hard Rey almost fell on her back. But she didn't, she gathered her strength and pushed back Dark Rey, trying to land a few blows of her own. They were pacing each other in circles, looking for weak spots, opening in defenses. Dark Rey extended her hand and started Force chocking Rey. Rey felt all air leaving her lungs and her chest was ablaze. She struggled and managed to break free of the demon's grasp using the Force. Dark Rey seized the moment and struck Rey across her chest but Rey counter attacked, the tip of the blue lightsaber grazing the other's thigh.

They fought like this, back and forth for what seemed like an hour. Each one of Dark Rey's blows was backed by hate and anger and with each centimeter she gained she seemed more absorbed in the fight. She was fighting with the strength of the mightiest sandstorms.

"You're so afraid" laughed Dark Rey as she kept hitting her.

Rey whimpered as Dark Rey's lightsaber grazed her skin through the thick overcoat. She stumbled a few feet back and tried to counter attack but her blow did not touch her target. She was tired and could barely breathe. She was feeling sick from all the blood she lost. She had no way of winning this fight. " _I am afraid. I can't do this forever. I can't outrun my fears...I can't outrun…my…fears...I have to face my fears. What do I fear?"_ Another hit in her leg made Rey grunt and retreat even further in the throne room. The middle of a fight was not the proper place for meditation. _"I fear...I'll become like Ren...That the Dark Side will consume me. But I can't defeat it, I can't fight it. She is wining"_ Another one of Dark Rey's hits touched the skin of her left shoulder. The dark one jumped and kicked Rey in the chest. She fell down and hurried to get back up on her feet, with the lightsaber raised _. "I...I am the one that has to defeat her. But...she is also me, somehow..."_ Rey lowered the lightsaber and allowed Dark Rey to impale her in the chest. It did not hurt.

"I am not afraid of you. I admire your strength. I respect it. I accept I have a Dark Side." Rey declared in a sure tone to her other self.

"What..." Dark Rey was looking at her in disbelief.

"I swear I will never allow you to see the real world. I will never set you free. I will always stay in the Light and protect those who can't protect themselves."

Dark Rey recoiled from her and disappeared. Rey stood there for a while. Her breathing became regular again and all her pains subsided. She glanced at the spots she was hit and she saw that her overcoat and skin were actually intact. She left the throne room behind and went out in one of the corridors. She kept walking until after one turn she was back in the stone corridor of the Temple, and found herself in front of a door. " _Open"_ and the door did. She passed the test, and she was relieved for it.

She was in a long hall, lighted by a crystal protruding from the ceiling, just like all the others. Next to her door there was another. She touched it and felt that Ren was still inside. He was...suffering, a great deal. She was tired and weak, so she laid herself on the ground with her back on the wall. She must have fallen asleep because the next thing she remembered was that sound of the other door opening. Ren appeared in the doorway. He made a few more steps and dropped to his knees. He was trembling. Rey crawled toward him and called out his name but he didn't respond. She placed her hands on his shoulders.

"Ren? What happened? Come on, Ren! We are still trapped in here!" She touched his cheek and entered his mind. She saw him: the scourge of the Empire, the feared Sith Lord, the grandfather he admired so strongly. She saw him fight the darkness. He jolted, grabbing her shoulders and pushing her back. He looked stunned.

"What... You waited for me?"

"I was... _I was ill, too ill to search for an exit"_ I am tired. What happened to you? You look awful."

"Just my worst nightmares. You?"

"Same"

He still held her shoulders.

"We should leave, find a way out. Come on"

He helped her to get up. She could feel the steel of his robotic arm as she clutched his elbows.

"How big is your implant, Ren?"

"The implant...Oh, just the entire arm and half of the shoulder." he retorted

"Huh?" her jaw dropped. She knew she injured him in the woods back on Starkiller, but this?

"The arm wasn't viable anymore by the time Hux managed to get me to the Finalizer. It's not such a big deal, it serves its purpose."

"But it is bothering you...greatly...I sense your unease. Is it...No...?" Rey extracted herself from his grip and just looked at him as she remembered their battle. Every time he used the Force against her he raised his left hand while he was right-handed. "You can't direct the Force with your robotic arm, can you? And he doesn't know yet?"

"Just...don't, Rey." his entire demeanor became menacing.

Rey knew she would only enrage him if she continued, and given the circumstances, she wasn't going to poke him in the eye. She had to survive. She looked at his hand again, the metal fingers reflecting the green light. She caused that to him and she felt guilty. She felt guilty for giving in to her Dark Side and indulging the maiming of him.

"Don't...feel guilty Rey. We were fighting and you did the right thing. When it comes to war, people die and get hurt."

"Or get tortured?" She asked him lightly. She felt his discomfort when she reminded him of her interrogation. She felt the temperature dropped, similar to the crawl of night on Jakku.

"If you had just given me what I needed none of that would have been necessary" he said coldly.

"Yes...but we are at war, Ren" she spoke softly back. "You shouldn't feel guilty for causing me pain, right?" her voice became sharp as steel. She felt angry he could just accept all the horrible acts going on around him and because of him with such ease.

"Yes" he said. "We need to find a way out of here. Once we are outside we can go back to killing each other, scavenger"

"Works for me, monster. What does your timer say?"

"37 hours and 25 minutes."

"Fine let's start exploring"

The room they were in now was a large hall with twelve pillars arranged in two rows on each side, four crystals protruded from the ceiling. On each wall there were three doors, some were shut others were half-demolished. The pillars were engraved with many small shapes. " _Glyphs…this is the Old Tongue_ " she heard Kylo Ren's thought echo in her own mind. He went to the closest one and started reading it, slowly. She could her his thoughts. " _The Living Force gives us life and binds us. It is all encompassing, all present and all powerful. The Living Force will guide your steps here and now. Be aware of unbalance for too much Dark or Light would be the undoing of life as we know it"._ Rey went to another column and glanced her eyes over the shapes. She wanted to understand them and the more she concentrated on her wish she started to see the meaning behind the glyphs. " _The Force knows no sides, has no allies, nor enemies. The Force is just one, perpetually fluctuating with the creations of its will. There is no Light without the Dark, there are only Shadows of Grey_ "

"For someone who doesn't want to learn from me you take a lot."

" _I took that from his head, right?"_ she sighed.

" _Yes, you did, little one"_

"You wanted to teach me so why does it bother you? Is it because I don't flatter your ego by calling you master? Or because I don't bow in awe in front of the great Kylo Ren?

"Pretty little scavengers like you shouldn't poke monsters in the eye"

"I'm not pretty. As for little…I didn't stop me before" She snapped at him and turned around. Rey walked purposefully toward the closest door and entered. She forgot all her anger for him when she saw what was behind it. "Ren! Stairs! There are stairs here and they go up!" She started running up as fast as she could, and heard Ren follow her closely.

To their disappointment the corridor was blocked by a huge marble slab. Ren hit the ceiling with his right hand, yelling in frustration. The hit of metal on rock let a few sparks fly. "This" he yelled "is like the rock we crawled through in the beginning. Before we fell through that kriffing door. This is a kriffing seal made by some kark."

"Calm down and let's try to move it"

Ren grunted. They both tried to Force push it but it was useless. The slab remained unmoved.

"Lightsabers" he decided.

The blue and red plasma beams shone bright in the corridor. Ren and Rey shoved them in the slab but they encountered enormous resistance. Eventually they both hit something that did not allow their lightsabers to pass, even more, the blue one shorted out. Rey looked at the hilt of the lightsaber in disbelief. She heard Ren's crackle louder and saw the blade vibrate and vary in with. He extracted the saber and deactivated it with haste.

"Kriff…the kriffing bastards that made this…they placed kriffing lightsaber resistant material. This is so karked…."

"Does that exist?"

"Of course. Phrik, mandalorian iron, songsteel are some but…ahem…this is Cortosis, which is the only one that can short out a lightsaber like that. We are lucky to be alive."

"It could have…exploded?" She gasped, looking at the lightsaber again in horror.

"Mine could have, not my grandfather's. The unstable crystal almost burst just now. I guess we'll live to see another day." He said while studying his lightsaber. Small traces of smoke were trailing from the exhausts.

"Why do you use that? If it is that dangerous?"

"Well…if wielded with care it should not explode. Besides," he turned to her with a proud grin, "my lightsaber can short out yours because of the uncontainable energy."

"Good to know. Thanks, master" she winked back at him. She guarded her thoughts form him because now she was thinking how to act in the wake of this reveal. Ren was obviously displeased that he gave the game away. They had nothing left to do there so they returned to the main hall.

Ren and Rey entered another room after Ren deployed his probe droid in the hall. Inside they saw the skeletons perfectly arranged in rows on the floor and gasped. Each one had their bony hands wrapped around a lightsaber hilt. The air was cold. Rey could almost see mist leaving her lips. She stole a look at Ren. The knight was obviously disturbed. His eyes leapt from skeleton to skeleton. Finally, he spoke:

"Rey, these are..."

"Younglings. I can hear your thoughts, remember?"

"Yes...right..."

They moved further inside. The walls where simple rock with the exception of one. It had lightsaber marks edging a message in the Old Tongue.

"We shall be one with the Force. The Force shall set us free." Ren read it out loud while walking toward it. Rey hugged herself trying to fend off the cold.

The knight touched the markings in the wall. Rey felt a sudden pain in her head as though someone had struck her with a knife. She saw Ren slumped on the floor and twitching uncontrollably. She leapt forward and touched his face. She fell in his mind, right in the middle of his vision.

It was night. Heavy rain was falling. They were back outside in the mud but the Temple was different. It was a small building, only one story high. All around them people were engaged in lightsaber duels. A deep rumble echoed on the battlefield. The heavy bombardier passed above their heads and released bombs. " _They're Bombarding the temple…Run in the underground…Send the padawans and the younglings in the underground,_ _protect them._ " Rey saw a girl with a kind face and freckles running back to the Temple, followed by a taller boy with black hair. They looked back at Rey and Ren as if they could see them. " _Come"._ Rey felt something cold touching her. Ren caught her hand and they started running after the older children. They entered and followed the pair in the basement again. This time it was filled with younglings and mist. Things were hazy and unclear. The only firm ground in the vision were their entangled hands, metal on flesh. " _Help_ … _No, no, no_ … _they bombarded the Temple. All exists are sealed…We can't leave…the master's way…no…we can't…hungry…thirsty…we are dying_ " all the voices were combined and neither came from just one person. Above all, two voices belonging to a boy and a girl boomed _"We shall die on our terms. Don't be afraid. We shall be one with the Force. The Force shall set us free"._ Ren and Rey heard multiple lightsabers ignited at once and then came the pain. The disturbance was so great a Wound in the Force had been created. One in which Rey and Ren where caught. Everything around turned to black and then they were in a field. All nature was dead and gone. She was clutching his metal hand. "We can't stay here Ren. We need to go back. We have to return to our world" she cried out, her voice echoed all around, distorted and strange. She could feel tears streaming down her cheeks.

He raised his head. His eyes were yellow. "Why should we go back? They never wanted us in their world to begin with. Why should I force them?" He yelled like a madman. He exuded darkness. He was going mad.

Rey was even more scared. She felt her heart plummet. Ren was feeding on all the negative feelings left behind after the younglings' suicide. She remembered every sultry look Unkar Plutt gave her, every broken bone and every bruise. She could see them, the bullies and the raiders that would beat her and steal her parts. She remembered the hunger that was never far away. _"No, I don't want that"_. She closed her eyes, thinking about all the goodness she encountered in the Galaxy thus far. She thought about BB-8, Finn, Poe, Master Luke, General Organa, and all the friends she made at the D'Qar base in her brief stay. She thought about Takodana and the green lush forests there. She wanted back in the real world so she was clinging to every shred of Light she had. She started seeing things she never encountered: holopads, a grey and green astromech droid, exotic fruits, a toy X-wing, and some young, dirty boys after a play session. She opened her eyes to see night had turned to day and near her hand a small rose grew. Ren breathed in and out. Their breathing synced and she felt her heartbeat match his. Everything went black.

They woke up again on the floor of the Temple among the skeletons. Rey felt so cold she started shivering. Ren's pale skin gleamed with sweat and seemed even greener than before. Rey was sick too, she could barely keep it in as her stomach rumbled.

"Thank you" he coughed. His voice was harsh and broken. "You…you got me out of there, so thank you. You saved my life". His hand shacked almost uncontrollably.

"We're even now. You saved mine," she tapped her thigh, "I saved you."

"Good to know you keep score."

"I don't. I just don't like the idea that I owe you"

Ren extended his hand and grabbed her shoulder. "We need to leave this room, this, here is a wound in the Force."

They dragged each other across the floor of the room back in the main hall and collapsed on a pillar. They were hugging each other, Ren holding her close. She allowed him because she didn't want to be alone. She yearned for a connection after that ordeal. Right there, in that moment no war mattered. No pervious animosity mattered. She felt as if they were enemies in another life. Latter she would ask herself what was she thinking but in that moment she leaned in and pressed her lips on his. He tasted salty and smelled like a beast but his lips on hears felt perfect. He hovered his lips just above hers before he rested her head on his left shoulder. It was warm and cozy and made Rey feel better.

"Some chocolate would lift our spirits."

"Chocolate? What is that?"

"You never ate chocolate?"

"I only ate portions, you spoiled Core World brat."

"It's the best possible thing in the Galaxy. It'd make us jump for joy after that…trip."

"So chocolate is the cure for the Dark Side? Show me where to buy it and I will force feed it to the entire First Order."

Ren laughed with all his heart, which scared Rey more than his maddened grunts and snarls.

"Unfortunately for you and your Jedi quest…it doesn't work like that. But…the best chocolate I ever ate came from Coruscant. Second best would be the chocolate from Corellia. Other notable mentions are those from Naboo, Dantooine, Eriadu and so forth."

"You sure ate a lot of chocolate, surely you were fat like Unkar Plutt" she laughed at him but her smile died when she heard his thoughts. " _Father would bring home stacks of chocolate from every world he visited while he was away"_

They stayed like that, motionless for a while. They were so, so tired. Rey felt extremely ill, her muscles begged for rest. This reminded her of that formidable sandstorm which blocked her in the AT-AT home for days. She could feel Kylo Ren was just as exhausted, the bowcaster shot bothered him and what was left of his right shoulder ached. Eventually their worn out bodies relaxed and they fell asleep. The timer showed 39 hours.


End file.
